Ghana's government, through the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), is set to purchase 30% of the gold output from large-scale mining companies. This initiative, effective July 1, 2026, aims to accumulate an additional $429 million in gold, building on the $16.11 billion already spent between January 2025 and May 2026 on gold primarily from artisanal and small-scale miners. This program is part of the Ghana Accelerated National Reserve Accumulation Program (GANRAP) which seeks to increase foreign exchange reserves to cover 15 months of imports by the end of 2028.
Between January 2025 and May 2026, GoldBod acquired 135.843 metric tonnes of gold, with 135.221 metric tonnes (approximately 99.5%) sourced from the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector. This generated over $10 billion in revenue in 2025 alone and contributed to a 41% appreciation of the Ghanaian Cedi, increasing the country's foreign exchange reserves from $8.98 billion in December 2024 to $13.8 billion in 2025. The new agreement with large-scale miners mandates they sell 30% of their gold output in unrefined (doré) form at a 0.55% discount. All transactions will be conducted in Ghanaian Cedis at the Bank of Ghana Reference Rate.
Deputy Minister of Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, emphasized GoldBod's role as a strategic institution critical for Ghana's macroeconomic recovery, particularly in boosting foreign exchange mobilization and combating gold smuggling, which cost Ghana approximately $11.4 billion between 2019 and 2023. The purchased doré gold will be refined locally to ensure value retention and then shipped to an LBMA-certified refinery for stamping before being delivered to the Bank of Ghana for inclusion in the national gold reserves. The government aims for at least one local gold refinery to achieve LBMA accreditation by 2030, aligning with President Mahama's vision of achieving zero raw mineral exports by the same year.
